Homemade rye bread

Purplebunnysarah

I mentioned in a thread that I usually have a slice of homemade rye bread with my breakfast and was asked for the recipe, so here it is! Just a warning--the receipe itself is fairly time-intensive. The amount of kneading means it's a good workout, too!

Swedish Rye Bread
makes (3) round loaves
at sea level, bakes for 350deg/ 35-40 minutes

Combine in mixer bowl, blend well, cover with a towel and cool to 85-100deg f:
2 c rye flour
1/2 c dark molasses
1/3 c shortening (or butter or margarine)
2 t salt
2 c boiling water

Sprinkle 1 pkg yeast in 1/2 c warm (85-105 deg) water. Add a few drops of honey or a little sugar to feed the yeast, and let sit for a couple of minutes until it blooms to the surface.
Add yeast to cooled rye mixture (if it is too hot, the bread may not rise), then add
3-4 c white flour (use a mixer, and run it on medium for a couple of minutes) and slowly add
2 or so more cups of flour (it will be a soft dough, easy to knead, so go light on the flour)

Turn dough out of bowl on floured board, cover with bowl and let REST 10 MINUTES FIRST
Knead for about 10 minutes
Rinse out bowl in HOT water, and put dough back in wet bowl. Turn over so the top is damp, cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise till double, almost 2 hours (it seems to take a LONG time)
Punch down, and rise again about 30 minutes.
Punch down and rest for 15 minutes.
Divide into (3) balls (or 4 if your sheets are small).
Place on greased sheets, let rise 1 hour.
To make them shiny, brush with whipped up egg whites before baking. The dough rises in the oven, so the further down you cover with egg white, the more finished it looks baked.
It's done when there's a slight hollow sound if you thump the bottom (it also holds it's shape well)

Edited to add that it's roughly 100 calories per slice if you assume each loaf makes 12 slices (which is fairly accurate).

Pandorian

That's definitely on my list to try. I can't stand the $5 a loaf price in the local grocery stores, so having a recipe that someone's recommending rocks. I like my home-made bread, tough to beat that smell first thing on a weekend.

Thanks for sharing